Best Recipe for Homemade Cinnamon Rolls

Best Recipe for Homemade Cinnamon Rolls: Instructions and photos show you how to make homemade cinnamon rolls

Want to make amazing cinnamon rolls a home? This recipe shows you exactly how to do that, using a family recipe for homemade rolls. They are truly the best I have ever eaten. I’ve grown up eating these cinnamon rolls as well as making them, along with the homemade rolls on which this recipe is based : How To Make Homemade Rolls From Scratch: Mom’s Recipe for Yeast Rolls A neighbor taught my mother how to make both of these delicious treats before I was born, and I learned how to make them when I was a very young sous chef.

Homemade rolls are not difficult to make, and neither are homemade cinnamon rolls, not nearly as hard as you might think. For these, you are just making homemade roll dough, then instead of making nice round rolls, you flatten the whole thing into a rectangle, add cinnamon, sugar and butter, and roll it up. If you have ever made a jelly roll or seen one made, it is like that.

Homemade Cinnamon Rolls: You roll up homemade bread dough, then cut it like you would a jelly roll.

I guess I am lucky, because I grew up in the kitchen with a mother who is an incredible baker and cook, so my training was hands on. However, the photos and instructions should walk you through the whole process, and if you end up with questions, I am happy to answer them. Just add a comment below.

Making homemade cinnamon rolls requires time, a couple of hours from start to finish. The process, however is pretty simple, and a lot of that time, you will just be waiting for your dough to rise, which you certainly do not have to stand around and watch. T

Once you make these and see how easy they are to make, as well as how incredibly delicious they are, you will want to make homemade cinnamon rolls all the time. Hopefully, that is a good thing. People ask me to make them all the time, especially my kids. I make a special point to have them ready on holiday mornings, but also like to just surprise them sometimes.

The recipe is tested and tried over a 100 times. No worries there. Never had a bad batch, and never, ever had a single one left over.

Supplies and Ingredients You Need To Make Homemade Cinnamon Rolls:

Supplies:

Mixing Bowl

Electric mixer or whisk plus some patience

1 Cookie Sheets or large rectangular baking dish

Measuring Cups

Measuring Spoons

Pastry Brush

Rolling Pin

You will need ingredients for all of the following:

Recipe for Homemade Cinnamon Rolls,

Roll Dough:

3/4 cup warm water

2 Tablespoons sugar

2 packages yeast (rapid rise is fine, just cuts rising times)

1/2 cup butter

1/2 cup sugar

2 eggs

2 cups very warm water

1 teaspoon salt

8 to 9 cups flour

Cooking oil

2 Tablespoons butter, softened, or shortening

Homemade Cinnamon Roll Filling

3/4 cup brown sugar

3/4 cup sugar

1/3 cup cinnamon

1/2 cup butter, melted

Homemade Cinnamon Roll Icing

1 cup powdered sugar

2 Tablespoons milk

2 Tablespoons butter, softened

Here’s how to make the roll dough:

Most of this is from the roll dough recipe in this post. Basically, you do the same thing, but stop at the step where you shape the rolls.

These are the ingredients you need to make homemade roll dough for homemade cinnamon rolls. (Salt not pictured)

Step One:

Mix 3/4 cups water, 2 tablespoons of sugar and 2 packages of yeast in a container that will hold at least double that amount. Set aside.

How To Make Homemade Cinnamon Rolls: Step One – Add yeast, water and sugar, then set aside

Step Two:

Cream butter and sugar. Add 2 eggs, 2 cups of water, salt and 3 1/2 cups flour. Beat at low speed until mixed, then at high speed for 3 minutes. Add yeast mixture and 2 more cups of flour. Mix for 2 more minutes. Add one more cup of flour if needed for workable dough. (This just means the dough needs not to be too sticky. If it still sticks to your hands more than a little bit, add more flour) Knead for five minutes, adding flour to working surface as needed to prevent sticking.

Add one more cup of flour if needed for workable dough. Now, I know workable dough is not something everyone is familiar with. Don’t be afraid. This recipe is a little bit forgiving here. You will know if the dough is too sticky, and you will learn to get it just right. Meanwhile, the rolls will taste about the same if you add a little too much or not quite enough.

Step 3:

Oil large mixing bowl. Make a ball with the dough and roll it in the oil in the bowl to coat. Cover with plastic wrap and warm, damp, dish towel. Set on pilot light or in warm spot. If you have a larger bowl, you can fill it with warm water and place this bowl inside. Filling the sink with warm water and setting the bowl in there will also work great. Let rise one hour.

How to Make Homemade Rolls- Step 3: Oil large mixing bowl. Make a ball with the dough and roll it in the oil in the bowl to coat.

How to Make Homemade Rolls- Step 3: Cover with plastic wrap and warm, damp, dish towel. Set on pilot light or in warm spot. If you have a larger bowl, you can fill it with warm water and place this bowl inside. Filling the sink with warm water and setting the bowl in there will also work great.

How to Make Homemade Rolls- Step 3: Let Rise One hour. Your dough will double in volume like this.

Step 4:

Here is what you do to turn your dough into cinnamon rolls:

Step 5:

Flour a countertop or large cutting board, basically a flat, clean work surface. Take the dough out of the bowl and lay it flat. Using a floured rolling pin, make a rectangle with the dough.

Step 6:

Get out these ingredients and mix them in a bowl:

Filling

3/4 cup brown sugar

3/4 cup sugar

1/3 cup cinnamon

Step 7:

Melt 1/2 cup of butter. Using a pastry brush, cover the dough with melted butter.

Homemade Cinnamon Roll Recipe

Step 8:

Sprinkle the dry ingredients, the brown sugar white sugar and cinnamon, over the butter on the dough. Use a butter knife to gently spread the ingredients evenly.

This is the dough once you have added the cinnamon and sugars, then spread evenly with a knife.

Step 8:

Starting at one of the short side of your dough rectangle, roll toward the center until you have a cylindrical shaped roll of dough with all your filling inside.

Roll your dough up like this until you have a cylinder of dough, your cinnamon and sugar layered inside.

Step 8:

Slice into 1 inch pieces with a knife. Your cuts do not have to be exact. They will all look good and taste good, some may just be a little taller or shorter than others. They will rise in the next step, and even out a little, anyway.

Using a knife, cut the dough into approximately 1 inch pieces.

This is what the cinnamon roll dough looks like when you slice it.

Step 9:

Place cut pieces in a pan, placing them close together, but not necessarily touching. If you want cinnamon rolls that pull apart, have them touch. If you would like them to be individual pieces, place them at least an inch apart.

This is what mine look like on the pan. (These have already started to rise a bit, but not completely)

Step 10:

Cover your cinnamon rolls with plastic wrap. If possible, put them in a warm place to rise. Let rise for 45 minutes to 1 hour.

Step 11:

Bake at 375 degrees for 22 minutes or until the tops have turned a light golden brown.

Step 12:

Mix Icing from this recipe. I use a fork or small whisk to make mine. The butter needs to be very soft for this to work. You can put it in the microwave set on defrost for a couple of minutes to speed it along. It may end up a little melted, then, but that is ok.

Homemade Cinnamon Roll Icing Recipe

1 cup powdered sugar

2 Tablespoons milk

2 Tablespoons butter, softened

Step 13:

Ice Cinnamon Rolls and Serve

What do you think?

I am hoping that the pictures I took and the instructions clearly show you how to make these great cinnamon rolls. Please talk to us in the comments if you have any questions or feedback. I would love to hear how yours turn out. Good luck!

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About Stephanie

Stephanie Hicks Butler is the executive editor of DIY Ready. She is curious, creative, and an expert mess maker who is not afraid to try anything a couple of times to get it right. Her specialties are inventing things, writing no nonsense clear instructions, artistic endeavors, paper crafts, digital media, kids crafts, creating recipes and figuring out new and better ways to do almost anything. Stephanie is a DIY guru who thinks maybe she should have been banned from DIY forums years ago, but enjoys being part information junkie, mad scientist, uncertified gourmet chef and mom of three budding DIY enthusiasts. DIY Projects For Teens

Absolutely. You will want to get to the step where they are cut into rolls, placed in a pan. I often get up early to take them out of the refrigerator to let them rise. Alternately, you can bake them the day before.

Sounds like a great recipe. Have you ever added pecans or other nuts? Would you add them in with the filling or wait and add in with the icing? I’ve never attempted cinnamon rolls but think I will give this a try. Thanks for the step-by-step instructions and especially the pics as that really makes it easier for me.

You are most welcome! I have put pecans in them, but I imagine other nuts would be wonderful as well. I add them before I roll the dough up, just sprinkle them over the sugar and butter. Good luck! Thanks

Absolutely. I love doing this, especially for holidays when I want to serve a special breakfast and need to have something predone. You can actually take them out of the freezer when you go to bed and they will be ready when you get up.

You can use unflavored dental floss to cut the rolls. It make a perfect cut. Place the floss under the edge of the piece to be cut. Bring the floss up over the top and cross end over and pull through. One roll is cut. Just keep moveing back until all rolls are cut.

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